editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Scott Neuman works as a Digital News writer and editor, handling breaking news and feature stories for NPR.org. Occasionally he can be heard on-air reporting on stories for Newscasts and has done several radio features since he joined NPR in April 2007, as an editor on the Continuous News Desk. Neuman brings to NPR years of experience as an editor and reporter at a variety of news organizations and based all over the world. For three years in Bangkok, Thailand, he served as an Associated Press Asia-Pacific desk editor. From 2000-2004, Neuman worked as a Hong Kong-based Asia editor and correspondent for The Wall Street Journal . He spent the previous two years as the international desk editor at the AP, while living in New York. As the United Press International's New Delhi-based correspondent and bureau chief, Neuman covered South Asia from 1995-1997. He worked for two years before that as a freelance radio reporter in India, filing stories for NPR, PRI and the Canadian BroadcastingNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Scott NeumanWed, 07 Mar 2018 13:01:42 +0000Scott Neumanhttp://wfit.org
Scott NeumanUpdated at 2:50 p.m. ET North Korea says it is willing to discuss denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula with the United States, a key requirement laid out by the Trump administration as a precondition for talks with Pyongyang. South Korean officials who returned from a two-day visit to the North Korean capital reportedly brought back the communication. The North also said it was willing to send a delegation for dialogue with the South next month at the border village of Panmunjom. "North Korea has clearly expressed its intention for denuclearization on the Korean peninsula, and if there is no military threat and North Korea's regime security is promised, they have clarified that there is no reason to hold nuclear weapons," South Korean President Moon Jae-in's office said. Taken at face value, the sudden shift would mark a major diplomatic breakthrough following last year's heated rhetoric, with Pyongyang threatening the U.S. with ballistic missiles and President Trump promising to rain In Possible Breakthrough, North Korea Open To Talks With U.S. On Denuclearizationhttp://wfit.org/post/possible-breakthrough-north-korea-offers-talks-denuclearization
87570 as http://wfit.orgTue, 06 Mar 2018 15:11:00 +0000In Possible Breakthrough, North Korea Open To Talks With U.S. On DenuclearizationScott NeumanA Russian national living in the U.K. after his 2010 release by Moscow on charges of spying for Britain, is critically ill after being exposed to an "unknown substance" over the weekend, the BBC reports. Sergei Skripal, 66, fell ill in a Salisbury, Wiltshire, shopping mall on Sunday. In 2006, Skripal, a retired military intelligence colonel, was jailed for 13 years after he was convicted of handing over to MI6 the identities of Russian spies working undercover in Europe during the 1990s. Russian prosecutors charged that he had taken tens of thousands of pounds from the British spy agency. He was one of a handful of prisoners released by Russia as part of a swap in 2010. A woman accompanying Skripal on Sunday, who is unidentified but thought to be in her 30s, also fell ill at the same time and is being treated at a local hospital. "The pair, who we believe are known to each other, did not have any visible injuries and were taken to Salisbury District Hospital," Wiltshire PoliceEx-Russian Who Spied For U.K. Critically Ill After Exposure To 'Unknown Substance' http://wfit.org/post/ex-russian-who-spied-uk-critically-ill-after-exposure-unknown-substance
87527 as http://wfit.orgMon, 05 Mar 2018 20:37:00 +0000Ex-Russian Who Spied For U.K. Critically Ill After Exposure To 'Unknown Substance' Scott NeumanAfter months of practice in the art of fast food preparation, "Flippy," has finally taken up a position as grill cook on the line at Caliburger's Pasadena, Calif., restaurant. "It's not a fun job — it's hot, it's greasy, it's dirty," acknowledges John Miller, the CEO of Cali Group, which runs the international fast food chain. Even so, it could be the beginning of a bright career for Flippy in an industry that is otherwise notorious for high employee turnover. It certainly helps that Flippy, a burger-flipping robot developed by Miso Robotics, shows no concern about the low wages, meager benefits or long hours that plague the industry. The robot is reportedly capable of grilling 150 burgers per hour. According to a press release from Miso, the company — which bills Flippy as the world's first burger-flipping robot — began working with Caliburger two years ago to develop it as a "cost-effective and highly efficient solution" that is "specifically designed to operate in an existing'Flippy' The Fast Food Robot (Sort Of) Mans The Grill At Caliburgerhttp://wfit.org/post/flippy-fast-food-robot-sort-mans-grill-caliburger
87532 as http://wfit.orgMon, 05 Mar 2018 18:32:00 +0000'Flippy' The Fast Food Robot (Sort Of) Mans The Grill At CaliburgerScott NeumanPresident Trump's promise to impose hefty tariffs on U.S. imports of steel and aluminum sent markets around the globe into a tailspin and prompted anger and threats of retaliation from major U.S. trading partners, raising the specter of a full-fledged trade war. As NPR's John Ydstie reports, during a Thursday meeting, the president promised steel and aluminum executives that he would protect them against foreign competition by levying tariffs on both metals in the coming weeks – 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum. "The tariffs are a response to the overproduction of steel and aluminum by China. But since there are already import restrictions on those Chinese products, new barriers are likely to have an impact on European allies, as well as Canada and Mexico, which could trigger retaliation. As NPR's Scott Horsley reported , the Commerce Department argues that growing imports of steel and aluminum, driven in part by overproduction in China, have so weakened America'sU.S. Plan For Steel And Aluminum Tariffs Prompts Global Backlashhttp://wfit.org/post/us-plan-steel-and-aluminum-tariffs-prompts-global-backlash
87458 as http://wfit.orgFri, 02 Mar 2018 13:54:00 +0000U.S. Plan For Steel And Aluminum Tariffs Prompts Global BacklashScott NeumanUpdated at 9:20 p.m. ET A powerful storm system is predicted to pull away from the East Coast by Friday night, but not before wind, rain, snow and flooding batter the upper Mid-Atlantic through New England. At least five people have died. Among the victims were two children: a 6-year-old boy in Virginia and an 11-year-old boy in New York state, both killed in their homes by fallen trees. Across the country in Southern California, the region appeared to have dodged significant mudslides in wildfire-stricken areas, after a storm passed through the area without major incident. It is, however, expected to drop several feet of snow on the Sierra Nevadas. In Boston, the National Weather Service warned of a "very dangerous situation" along the eastern Massachusetts coastline, including Boston, with "wind, wave, surf action on top of tides, 4 foot storm surge." The warning remains in effect until early Sunday. Along Boston's waterfront, roads and sidewalks were flooded Friday, closing severalAt Least 5 Killed As Both Coasts Weather Major Winter Stormshttp://wfit.org/post/east-and-west-both-coasts-brace-major-winter-storms
87456 as http://wfit.orgFri, 02 Mar 2018 12:00:00 +0000At Least 5 Killed As Both Coasts Weather Major Winter StormsScott NeumanRepublican lawmakers in Georgia made good on a threat to eliminate a proposed tax break for Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, after the carrier declined to reverse a decision to cut ties with the National Rifle Association. Earlier this week, Delta — the state's largest private employer, with 33,000 workers statewide — was among numerous companies to announce that it would end discounts for NRA members in the wake of the mass shooting that killed 17 people at a Parkland, Fla., high school. Immediately afterward, Georgia's Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, a Republican and staunch NRA ally, said he would "kill" legislation to give the airline a sales tax exemption on jet fuel. The proposal, estimated to be worth at least $38 million to Delta and other airlines, had until then been largely uncontroversial. Ignoring warnings that taking on Delta could harm the state's pro-business image , the GOP-controlled House, which had earlier approved a larger tax bill containing the exemption, voted 135-24 onGeorgia Lawmakers Punish Delta Air Lines Over NRA Feudhttp://wfit.org/post/georgia-lawmakers-punish-delta-air-lines-over-nra-feud
87437 as http://wfit.orgFri, 02 Mar 2018 08:54:00 +0000Georgia Lawmakers Punish Delta Air Lines Over NRA FeudScott NeumanHundreds of faithful at a Pennsylvania church on Wednesday carried AR-15-style rifles in adherence to their belief that a "rod of iron" mentioned in the Bible refers to the type of weapon that was used in last month's mass shooting in Parkland, Fla. The armed ceremony at World Peace and Unification Sanctuary in Newfoundland, about 20 miles southeast of Scranton, featured gun-toting worshippers, some wearing crowns of bullets as they participated in communion and wedding ceremonies. Attendants carefully placed a zip tie into the receiver magazine well of each weapon to assure that a clip could not be loaded. Concern over Wednesday's gathering prompted a nearby elementary school to cancel classes for the day. It also sparked a small demonstration outside the church, with one protester telling The Associated Press that "it's scaring people in the community." According to The Philadelphia Inquirer , "The ceremony's official name was the Cosmic True Parents of Heaven, Earth and HumanityAR-15s Are Biblical 'Rod Of Iron' At Pennsylvania Churchhttp://wfit.org/post/ar-15s-are-biblical-rod-iron-pennsylvania-church
87410 as http://wfit.orgThu, 01 Mar 2018 14:31:00 +0000AR-15s Are Biblical 'Rod Of Iron' At Pennsylvania ChurchScott NeumanGermany says it managed to fend off a cyberattack against key ministries, but declined to confirm media reports that the culprit was the Russian intelligence operation blamed for interference in U.S. elections. "We can confirm that the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and intelligence services are investigating a cybersecurity incident concerning the federal government's information technology and networks," an Interior Ministry spokesman said Wednesday. "The attack was isolated and brought under control within the federal administration," which manages government computer networks, the spokesman said in a statement, Reuters reports. According to Reuters: "Western governments and security experts have linked the hacker group known as APT28 or Fancy Bear to a Russian spy agency, and have blamed it for an attack on the Democratic National Committee ahead of the 2016 U.S. elections. Germany's Deutsche Presse-Agentur news agency cites anonymous security officials as sayingRussia's 'Fancy Bear' Reportedly Hacks German Government Network http://wfit.org/post/russias-fancy-bear-reportedly-hacks-german-government-networks
87385 as http://wfit.orgThu, 01 Mar 2018 07:25:00 +0000Russia's 'Fancy Bear' Reportedly Hacks German Government Network Scott NeumanNorth Korea has reportedly sent ballistic missile and chemical weapons components to Syria in violation of United Nations sanctions, according to a draft of a new report authored by U.N. experts that has been viewed by several news organizations. According to the 200-page report, expected to go public in mid-March, U.N. investigators say the items include acid-resistant tiles, valves and thermometers, according to The New York Times . The transfers reportedly date back as far as 2008. The Times reports, "North Korean missile technicians have also been spotted working at known chemical weapons and missile facilities inside Syria, according to the report, which was written by a panel of experts who looked at North Korea's compliance with United Nations sanctions." The Associated Press says the "investigations into Pyongyang's transfer of prohibited ballistic missile, conventional arms and dual use goods found more than 40 previously unreported shipments to Syria between 2012 and 2017." North Korea Reportedly Sending Missile, Chemical Weapons Parts To Syria http://wfit.org/post/north-korea-reportedly-sending-missile-chemical-weapons-parts-syria
87359 as http://wfit.orgWed, 28 Feb 2018 10:30:00 +0000North Korea Reportedly Sending Missile, Chemical Weapons Parts To Syria Scott NeumanFirst, he forgot about owning millions of dollars' worth of bitcoin. Then he bragged about it. Now, 50 Cent, who is filing for bankruptcy, says he never owned any of the digital currency after all. As NPR's Bill Chappell reported last month , the rapper, whose given name is Curtis Jackson, acknowledged in a 2014 Reddit discussion that he had accepted bitcoin in partial payment for his Animal Ambition album. A TMZ report subsequently reported an estimate of the amount he received was about 700 bitcoins. At the time, individual units of the volatile cryptocurrency would have been worth a few hundred dollars each, but today, bitcoin is valued at around $10,000. In a (since deleted) Instagram post in January, the rapper bragged about his discovered windfall, saying he "forgot" that he had owned it. However, in a bankruptcy filing late last week , lawyers for the artist told the court that the recent media reports "falsely stated" that he owned any bitcoin at all. "[The] Debtor has neverRapper 50 Cent, Who Bragged About Owning Bitcoin, Now Denies Ithttp://wfit.org/post/rapper-50-cent-who-bragged-about-owning-bitcoin-now-denies-it
87294 as http://wfit.orgTue, 27 Feb 2018 10:09:00 +0000Rapper 50 Cent, Who Bragged About Owning Bitcoin, Now Denies ItScott NeumanThree executions were scheduled. Two were called off. If the death sentences in Alabama, Texas and Florida had all gone ahead on Thursday night as originally planned, it would have marked the first time in eight years that three convicted killers were executed on the same day. However, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott granted clemency to Thomas Whitaker, 38, commuting his sentence to life in prison. And late Thursday, the execution in Alabama of Doyle Lee Hamm was postponed after last minute legal wrangling pushed late into the evening. Only the execution of Florida inmate Eric Scott Branch, 47, who was convicted of raping and killing a college student decades ago, was carried out. Branch thrashed on the gurney where he was strapped to receive a lethal injection, managing to scream "murderers!" three times before he was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. According to The Associated Press: "Moments earlier, he had addressed the corrections officers in the room with him by saying that, instead of themTexas Commutes Death Sentence, As Execution Carried Out In Florida; Alabama Postponeshttp://wfit.org/post/texas-commutes-death-sentence-execution-carried-out-florida-alabama-postpones
87174 as http://wfit.orgFri, 23 Feb 2018 08:34:00 +0000Texas Commutes Death Sentence, As Execution Carried Out In Florida; Alabama PostponesScott NeumanAustralia's beleaguered deputy prime minister has announced his resignation over allegations of sexual harassment that followed on reports earlier this month of an adulterous affair with a former staff member who is now pregnant with the couple's child. At a news conference on Friday, Barnaby Joyce said he would step down Monday "as leader of the National Party and deputy leader of Australia." He said media reports that an unidentified woman had made a sexual harassment complaint against him were "the straw the breaks the camel's back," after two weeks of withering scrutiny about the affair with his former press secretary, Vikki Campion. Joyce — who has denied the allegation of harassment and has steadfastly insisted that his relationship with Campion is a private affair — called the decision to resign from the government a "circuit-breaker," telling reporters, "This current cacophony of issues has to be put aside." Questions were raised not only over the extramarital affair, but withGrowing Scandal Forces Australia's Deputy Prime Minister To Resignhttp://wfit.org/post/growing-scandal-forces-australias-deputy-prime-minister-resign
87175 as http://wfit.orgFri, 23 Feb 2018 07:44:00 +0000Growing Scandal Forces Australia's Deputy Prime Minister To ResignScott NeumanThe wife of Kentucky state Rep. Dan Johnson, who killed himself last year amid allegations of sexual assault, has lost a bid to succeed her late husband. The special election returned the seat to Linda Belcher, whom Dan Johnson had unseated. Belcher — the Democrat who lost to Johnson in a Trump wave that swept Republicans into office statewide in 2016 — easily won the special election for Kentucky's 49th District. She garnered 68 percent of the vote to Rebecca Johnson's roughly 32 percent, member station WFPL reports. Johnson's wife announced a day after his death that she would seek the state House seat. According to The Hill , "The Kentucky district is the 18th formerly Republican-held district to fall into Democratic hands in a special election since Trump won election, a growing trend Democrats see as proof of their party's momentum heading into the midterm elections. In 2018 alone, Democrats have won Republican-held state legislative districts in Missouri, Wisconsin and Florida."Kentucky Democrat Wins Special Election To Reclaim Seat After Lawmaker's Suicidehttp://wfit.org/post/kentucky-democrat-wins-special-election-reclaim-seat-after-lawmakers-suicide
87082 as http://wfit.orgWed, 21 Feb 2018 11:58:00 +0000Kentucky Democrat Wins Special Election To Reclaim Seat After Lawmaker's SuicideScott NeumanUpdated at 1:50 p.m. ET A week after a gunman killed 17 people at a Florida high school, students who survived the attack brought their #NeverAgain protest movement to Tallahassee to demand action on guns and mental health. Thousands of activists marched on the state Capitol to pressure lawmakers Wednesday, even as their peers elsewhere in the U.S. staged protests of their own in solidarity. "Dear Congress: How can you claim to stand for the people but let your kids get slaughtered like animals in their own schools?" Sheryl Acquarola, a survivor of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., screamed to the gathered crowd on Wednesday. "Dear Congress," she added, "how many of the thoughts and prayers that I have received do I need to check in for some damn action? Because thoughts and prayers don't mean anything without something behind it. And to be quite frank, thoughts and prayers won't stop my brothers and sisters from dying. Action will." Between'We Will Not Give Up': Fla. School Shooting Survivors March For Tougher Gun Lawshttp://wfit.org/post/florida-school-shooting-survivors-march-state-capitol-tougher-gun-laws
87080 as http://wfit.orgWed, 21 Feb 2018 10:33:00 +0000'We Will Not Give Up': Fla. School Shooting Survivors March For Tougher Gun LawsScott NeumanPeter Wang, a 15-year-old member of the Junior ROTC who was killed as he tried to help fellow students escape a mass shooting in Parkland, Fla., last week, has been posthumously admitted to the U.S. Military Academy. Peter and two other freshman cadets, Martin Duque and Alaina Petty, both 14, were also awarded the Medal of Heroism — the highest medal given to Junior Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps cadets. Classmates and family said that Peter dreamed of attending West Point. The admission to the academy came on the same day as his funeral. "It was an appropriate way for USMA to honor this brave young man," the academy said in a statement. "West Point has given posthumous offers of admissions in very rare instances for those candidates or potential candidates whose actions exemplified the tenets of duty, honor and country." Peter was reportedly wearing his gray Junior ROTC shirt when he was killed while holding the door open so others could escape a gunman who fatally shot 17Army Awards Medal For Heroism To 3 JROTC Cadets Killed In Florida Shootinghttp://wfit.org/post/army-awards-medal-heroism-3-jrotc-cadets-killed-florida-shooting
87071 as http://wfit.orgWed, 21 Feb 2018 08:52:00 +0000Army Awards Medal For Heroism To 3 JROTC Cadets Killed In Florida ShootingScott NeumanA meeting that was to have taken place between Vice President Pence and representatives of North Korea during the Winter Olympic Games fell apart when Pyongyang suddenly backed out, the State Department says. The meeting, between Pence and Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and Kim Yong Nam, North Korea's nominal head of state, was to have taken place on Feb. 10 during the vice president's three-day visit to the Olympic venue. However, "At the last minute, DPRK [North Korean] officials decided not to go forward with the meeting," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. "The Vice President was ready to take this opportunity to drive home the necessity of North Korea abandoning its illicit ballistic missile and nuclear programs," Nauert said. As we reported earlier this month , the vice president had left open the possibility of such a meeting, but Nauert's remarks on Tuesday were the first official acknowledgement that one had been inPence Planned To Meet North Koreans At Olympics, But Pyongyang Canceled http://wfit.org/post/pence-planned-meet-north-koreans-olympics-pyongyang-canceled
87070 as http://wfit.orgWed, 21 Feb 2018 07:41:00 +0000Pence Planned To Meet North Koreans At Olympics, But Pyongyang Canceled Scott NeumanThe strained — and often strange — relationship between President Trump and Mitt Romney just added another layer of complexity: In a tweet on Monday, the president endorsed Romney to fill the U.S. Senate seat left open by the retirement of Utah's Orrin Hatch. Trump said Romney "will make a great Senator and worthy successor to [Orrin Hatch], and has my full support and endorsement!" Romney's response (also on Twitter): "Thank you Mr. President for the support. I hope that over the course of the campaign I also earn the support and endorsement of the people of Utah." The civil words between the two Republicans are very different from some words they have used about each other in the past — words like "phony" (Romney) and "loser" (Trump). In a famously scathing speech delivered in the midst of the presidential campaign in March 2016, the former Massachusetts governor who ran unsuccessfully against President Obama in 2012 called Trump a "con man" whose promises are "as worthless as aTrump Endorses Romney For U.S. Senate, But Does It Signal Détente?http://wfit.org/post/trump-endorses-romney-us-senate-does-it-signal-d-tente
87021 as http://wfit.orgTue, 20 Feb 2018 09:18:00 +0000Trump Endorses Romney For U.S. Senate, But Does It Signal Détente?Scott NeumanFive women were killed Sunday when a gunman opened fire at a Russian Orthodox church in the restive Northern Caucasus region of Dagestan. Russian news sources quoted a priest from the church in Kizlyar in western Dagestan as saying the attacker, described as a local man in his 20s, began firing on churchgoers as they were leaving following Sunday afternoon service. "A bearded man ran towards the church shouting 'Allah Akbar' and killed four people," Father Pavel said, according to Russian sources quoted by The Guardian. "He was carrying a rifle and a knife." A fifth person died of wounds at a local hospital. All five victims were women. The gunman was later identified by Russian media sources as Khalil Khaililov, a 22-year-old resident of Kidero, a town about a hundred miles south of the scene of the attack. Khaililov was "eliminated" by police gunfire, according to Interfax. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in Dagestan, a Muslim-majority region that has sought independence5 Killed In Church Shooting In Russia's Dagestanhttp://wfit.org/post/5-killed-church-shooting-russias-dagestan
86978 as http://wfit.orgMon, 19 Feb 2018 09:19:00 +00005 Killed In Church Shooting In Russia's DagestanScott NeumanOxfam International says three members of a team it deployed to Haiti in 2010 who were investigated for sexual exploitation there threatened a key witness in the inquiry. The U.K.-based aid group has come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks after The Times of London reported that some of its staff working in the Caribbean country after a devastating earthquake had hired local prostitutes. Oxfam's senior official in Haiti at the time was among those implicated. In a heavily redacted final report of its 2011 inquiry released by Oxfam on Sunday, the relief organization says a total of seven team members, whose names are obscured in the report, were disciplined – four were dismissed, two resigned and one was given a written warning. Two members who were dismissed and one who resigned were cited for "bullying and intimidation" of an Oxfam staff member interviewed as a witness by the investigative team. Elsewhere in the report, the behavior directed at the witness was described as Oxfam: Witness Threatened In Sexual Exploitation Inquiryhttp://wfit.org/post/oxfam-witness-threatened-sexual-exploitation-inquiry
86977 as http://wfit.orgMon, 19 Feb 2018 08:34:00 +0000Oxfam: Witness Threatened In Sexual Exploitation InquiryScott NeumanThe head of Oxfam says the humanitarian group will appoint an independent commission to investigate claims that its staff engaged in sexual exploitation while working in disaster zones. In an interview with the BBC , Oxfam International Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said the commission would "do justice" and "atone for the past." "I'm appointing a high-level, independent commission that will look into our culture and our practices and make recommendations to make us stronger at protecting our people," she told the BBC. The London Times revealed the allegations in a report last week. It accused the U.K.-based charity of covering up an internal inquiry finding that the country director for Chad, Roland van Hauwermeiren, and members of his staff had paid prostitutes for sex in the African country. Similar accusations emerged after van Hauwermeiren and his team were reassigned to Haiti following the devastating 2010 earthquake there. Earlier this week, Byanyima's deputy, PennyOxfam Chief Asks Forgiveness For Sexual Exploitation By Aid Workershttp://wfit.org/post/oxfam-chief-asks-forgiveness-sexual-exploitation-aid-workers
86907 as http://wfit.orgFri, 16 Feb 2018 10:58:00 +0000Oxfam Chief Asks Forgiveness For Sexual Exploitation By Aid Workers